9 minute read
SPORTS
America’s game: an avenue to community
The Belgrade Bandits won the 12U Montana State Championship on July 11 clinching their win with a 4-1 victory over the Gallatin Outlaws. PHOTO BY DAVE PECUNIES
BY MATT MORRIS
EBS GUEST COLUMNIST
As I wake up this morning, I can’t help but smile for many of the same reasons we all share: the pure beauty of the mountains, the freestone rivers, and the endless opportunities to explore. Today’s smile is different though. It comes from a place deeply rooted inside me.
For many years I, along with my wife Heather, came to Big Sky in order to escape the daily grind of life from real world USA. Every October I couldn’t wait to leave behind the chaotic nature of being a Major League Baseball pitcher. Big Sky was my place to unwind, relax, reflect and ski. It was a place to forget about baseball; a place where no one cared who you were or what you did; a place that made us feel at home, one that made me smile.
After hanging up my cleats and raising a family here it has been nothing short of exceptional. What brought me here was the idea of what life after baseball could be: how I could ski and fish; how I could feel free and unconfined; how the spotlight would dim and a life could begin.
What was not part of the equation was the sense of community I stumbled upon--the village it takes to raise kids the right way. It’s the friendly wave, the well-timed tow strap and the unwavering support from neighbors. I guess, they’re the same things that make us all smile.
In my professional days I mostly smiled too. I was lucky enough to play 12 years of Major League Baseball as a starting pitcher. In my opinion, the greatest life in sports, except for the actual games, is difficult. Most of my career was spent with the St. Louis Cardinals before becoming a free agent and signing with the San Francisco Giants. Then, feeling the business side of sports, I was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
To compete at the highest level in sports is both exhilarating and terrifying. To put your talent to the test against the best in the world is an opportunity to measure your true character. How you deal with the adversity while in the spotlight is more than just baseball. It is who you are, not what you are, that makes you great.
Baseball, like life, is a game of failure. It tests your patience. It shines a spotlight on you for just a second to see if you decide to do the right thing. Baseball finds you when you are not looking for it. It humbles you when you think you have it. far away from baseball, it has found me once again. Never did I think these memories would come on a dusty field in small town Montana.
I have had the great privilege of coaching a group of young baseball stars for the last four years. Together, we have learned America’s game, our game. It has come with some highs and many lows. It has come with a little blood, some broken bones and a lot of tears. It has been filled with slumps and bad hops.
There were beanballs on cold nights and bruised egos on warm ones. It was the doctor’s kid to the plumber’s boy to the son of a rancher completing a 6-4-3 double play. It’s a blazing fastball thrown by the mechanic’s boy after years of catch in the backyard; the frozen rope hit by the math teacher’s son to send the game into extra innings; the fireman’s youngest blocking home plate for the final out. It’s a community coming together to create pure magic on a field in the shape of a diamond. There is no clock in baseball, only time. Enough time to break your heart and enough time to fill it back up.
Well, this season, my team of a dozen 12-year-old boys recently played their hearts out on a scorching hot weekend in Miles City. It was more of a perfect mediocrity than a flawed brilliance but nonetheless we persevered. As their coach, mentor and sometimes babysitter I am proud to call this team the Montana State Champions.
I will never forget what this team has done for this old washed-up ex-player. I will remember their teamwork, sacrifice and unselfish play. They will remember the ice cream after the games. I will replay the final out as if it was the seventh game of the world series, as they play whiffle ball on a side field. It’s innocent and it’s pure. I can only hope they will look back on this magical season with the same love and joy it gave me. Maybe one day while having a catch in the backyard with their own child, they can tell them about the summer of 2021.
Now, it’s on to the Pacific Northwest Regionals in Meridian, Idaho, to compete against teams twice our size with cities triple the population.
It’s a level of baseball that is far beyond waiting for the snow to melt, a level where turf fields replace lawn mowers and batting cages are the norm. But maybe, just maybe, the baseball gods will look down on us and reward us for all the hard work we put in. Win, lose or draw, my heart is full once again.
Is the Olympic spirit still alive?
BY AL MALINOWSKI
EBS SPORTS COLUMNIST
I struggled to watch the Olympics this year. Between athletes who represent Team USA protesting during our national anthem and debates on whether an athlete’s decision to quit during the team gymnastics competition made her a hero or a coward, I found myself quickly losing interest. I watch the Olympics to be inspired, and I was finding the opposite to be true.
I remember the pride our country showed when our national teams found success in previous worldwide competitions. When the 1980 men’s hockey team orchestrated the “Miracle on Ice”, it seemed everyone wanted to mirror the heart and determination of players like Jimmy Craig or Mike Eruzione.
Similarly, years later, as the women’s national soccer team experienced World Cup and Olympic success, we all admired the drive and motivation of Brandi Chastain and Briana Scurry. Besides serving as outstanding role models, these athletes appeared genuinely grateful for the opportunity to represent our nation at the highest level of competition in their sports.
I didn’t initially find that same spirit as I watched the Olympics this time. It seemed the attention focused on controversy, rather than stories of teamwork and overcoming adversity to achieve success. I nearly tuned the Olympics out.
As it turned out, the competitive spirit I was looking for was still there. I just had to find a way to cut through all the noise to see it. And the solution was simple, though I found it by accident. I turned on the television…without the volume.
Once I did that, I found the spirit of the Olympics was still very much alive. I witnessed the mutual admiration and respect that many athletes share as competitors congratulated each other at the end of a competition. I saw some athletes overwhelmed with joy as they surprised their country with an unexpected medal. In those same competitions, I watched as the favorite, certainly drowning in disappointment, mustered the courage to compliment the winner before undoubtedly finding a place to begin to accept the outcome.
Numerous times I saw athletes who, while their performance did not merit a medal, left the sporting venue with pride as they knew that had given their all.
As our local high school teams are beginning practice for their fall sports seasons, I think there is much that parallels my experience with the Olympics. It’s easy to become frustrated when student-athletes make poor decisions on or off the field that indicate a lack of respect for their community or their teammates. Similarly, some parents can make it uncomfortable to attend games, when they routinely (and loudly) notify the referees of their superior ability to recognize rule infractions or second-guess the coach’s game plan from the stands. Often these isolated incidents attract too much attention, which can distract from the subtle but more intriguing achievements taking place in the games.
When you cut through that noise and turn off the volume, so to speak, there are numerous examples of young athletes in our community overcoming adversity and submitting themselves to the challenge of competition. Regardless of the game’s outcome, there will be unexpected moments of inspiration and disappointment. Both can be teachable moments for the athletes and the fans alike.
I know how disheartened some of our teams would feel when the opposing team’s fans outnumbered ours at some of our home games. This season, I encourage the Big Sky community to attend Lone Peak and Ophir home games and support the competitive spirit that is developing in our local athletes. Though it may not be the Olympics, I’m certain the coaches are preparing the athletes to provide an effort we can all be proud to watch.
Al Malinowski has lived in Big Sky for over 25 years. He has coached middle school and high school basketball at the Big Sky School District for 22 of those years. He believes participation in competitive athletics has been critical in establishing his core values.
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BIG SKY SOFTBALL 2021
These are the standings for weeks nine and 10 of play for the Big Sky Co-ed Softball League as of Aug. 8. There is one more week left of regular play followed by the End of Season Tournament on Aug. 28 and 29.
1. LPC Golden Goats 10-0 2. Hillbilly Huckers 11-1 3. Bears 10-2 4. Yeti Dogs 10-4 5. Milkies 9-4 6. Cab Lizards 7-7 7. Yellowstone Club 7-4 8. Lotus Pad 6-6 9. The Cave 6-7 10.Westfork Wildcats 5-5 11. Mooseketeers 5-9 12. Bombers 2-11 13. Big Sky Ballers 1-10 14. Rubes 1-10 15. Mullets 0-14
On the evening of Aug. 9, players gathered under a clear sky for the for the second-to-last week of regular play. PHOTO BY JOE O’CONNOR
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